Lessons from Dhammananda

Natasha Smith, the author of this post, sits on the Ordain Women Executive Board and serves as Chair of the Intersectionality Committee.

Credit: ThaiBhikkhunis.org

Dhammananda is both a mom and a monk in Thailand, which makes her a rarity. Women are not allowed to be monks in Thailand, so Dhammananda was ordained through a loophole in Sri Lanka. There are now 100 monks who identify as women in Thailand.

In her interview, she discusses the doctrinal foundation for the ordination of women and the resulting fall out she has experienced from the other monks who identify as men.

I appreciated the similarities I saw with my own experience as well as the insights I gained. It is fascinating that, despite the obvious theological differences between Buddhism and Mormonism, the patriarchal influence is strikingly similar in its method of oppression.